Some Notes on the Future of Virya
What to expect from this publication going forward
For some months now, a good portion of my day has been devoted to the study of Buddhism - specifically, early or “original” Buddhism as laid out in the Sutta Pitaka of the Pāli Canon1.
As others have remarked, no spiritual tradition presents the nature of - and the path leading to - self-realization more clearly, systematically, and objectively as early Buddhism. My primary aim, then, is to have a solid understanding of the Buddha’s teachings as well as a clear view of how they can inform my own practice. I also want to study the tradition as a whole and trace the various historical developments that have occurred since the Buddha’s time, both the exoteric/esoteric expressions, the various sub-traditions, sects, schools and so forth. Consequently, much of the content published here will cover these topics in extensive detail and I imagine this endeavor will continue for quite some time.
Now, while I’m doing this for my own enrichment, there are peripheral benefits to writing down and publishing whatever I happen to glean from my studies - especially for others with similar interests. I’ve always viewed learning as a dynamic process requiring different approaches and procedures, especially when the subject matter in question covers the vast doctrinal foundations of an ancient spiritual tradition. Accordingly, I believe that writing formal posts is one of the best approaches for catalyzing my own thought process and for ensuring that I really try to understand what I’m studying. I also greatly enjoy presenting things as if I were engaging with another who was just as interested in the same topics and had a similar level of understanding.
Although many of the posts, then, will be expository and analytical, a secondary aim will involve creating quasi-pedagogical material. I imagine this will force me to refine my own perspectives while concretely benefitting others who want to learn more about Buddhist history and its teachings. I also like the idea of this platform being relatively comprehensive and “self-contained” when it comes to the material I present on a particular tradition. I want future readers who align with my general orientation to have a wealth of material on, say, Buddhism or Yoga if they ever want to study it deeply for themselves and can trust that the various articles, essays, educational aids etc. carry the same distinct flavor and level of quality. Finally, I want this whole endeavor to be a form of cleaning the dust off the map (as mentioned in the “About” section). These days, there is so much muddying of the waters when it comes to discussing the great spiritual traditions, and I want to expose them in their original spirit without indulging any silly modern trappings.
For the few subscribers who are reading this, hopefully you’ll derive some benefit from these efforts.
Broad Areas of Interest
Concerning the specific areas of interest within Buddhism, I have three distinct lines that I want to follow:
I want to start with the founder himself - the historical Buddha aka Prince Siddhartha Gautama. Rather than get straight into the teachings I find it incredibly valuable to know the historical details of the founding figure and to try and understand WHY he was motivated to carve his own path. Why did he reject the philosophical and spiritual currents of his time? Did he have a clear goal in mind when he renounced the “worldly” life? What kept him on the path when he had encountered so many obstacles?
I’m not quite sure how to explain my burning interest on this matter, but I suppose it’s because it directly parallels my own situation and, I imagine, many others who are suspended in modernity with zero external sources of “institutional” support. Yes, I’m aware of the various contemporary modes of practice/lifestyles as well as exoteric religion and though I recognize the partial value of some of these paths, they are not my own. And I strongly feel that they would not have been Siddhartha’s as well. So, then, it seems we are left to are own devices regarding interpretations and solutions - although that does inspire, rather than demoralize, me. The possibility of being able to carve one’s unique path and stand on one’s own feet amidst unfavorable circumstances parallels the same challenge that the future Buddha undertook himself.
To that end then, many of the next few posts will cover Siddhartha’s life and try to paint a picture of the historical context that he found himself in and his motivations for pursuing self-mastery. I imagine, too, that as I’m exploring this I’ll gain a much better understanding of ancient Indian society and the Vedic culture/religion.
The second area of interest concerns the teachings themselves and understanding how to apply them. The truth is, there are a vast amount of topics covered in the Sutta Pitaka and, while there are some general thematic schemes for each of the “collections” (Nikāyas) there is no overarching framework to the Buddha’s teachings as a whole. Now this doesn’t mean one can’t arrive at a holistic, high-level understanding through a close study of the Sutta Pitaka, but as far as I understand, no single dominant scheme is laid out in which the core of the Buddha’s teachings progressively and “linearly” unfolds. This is to be expected since the discourses themselves derive from in-person “situational” contexts and were orally transmitted for the first few centuries after his passing.
In my view, then, the lack of a dominant structure to the Sutta Pitaka presents a useful opportunity. My plan is to release a broad array of material dealing with several diverse topics from a variety of directions. My hope is that, in time, as more and more material gets published here - and my own understanding starts to mature - an overarching structure and a higher-level clarity will start to reveal itself. Once again, we’ll be loosely mirroring the Buddha’s own aims with this kind of pedagogical approach.
As regards the last area of interest, I want to draw on what I mentioned earlier concerning the actual details of Buddhist history and the various splits and sects that manifested all the way to present day “Buddhism”. My bias may be towards early Buddhism, but that doesn’t mean we can’t extract the gems from other ancient schools while setting aside all that is superfluous and misleading.
Going forward, then, you can expect the majority of posts to relate to one of these three broad areas. As I mentioned, it may initially appear as a motley collection of thoughts and ideas, but eventually, my hope is that a central line of insight can start to disclose itself and that we may begin to see the forest in light of the various trees that have been planted. To be honest, too, I believe anything that’s truly worth learning and is conducive to inner transformation must unfold in this way i.e. non-linearly.
Obviously, this doesn’t mean there won’t be tangential posts covering other topics. If Buddhism represents the main line of endeavor, we will, occasionally, be taking various detours and side-trips. This can manifest as more peripheral, but relevant topics that augment the main line, or just completely one-off, autonomous topics or ideas that I may want to explore for whatever reason.
Recap
Going forward, then, I have three broad objectives regarding the majority of the content I post here:
To deeply understand the Buddha’s teachings in light of their practical and intellectual value.
Producing expository, analytical, and pedagogical material for others who may want to learn more about the Buddha’s teachings.
Sorting out modern distortions.
As far as the content itself, I’ll mostly be dealing with the following areas:
The life of the historical Buddha (emphasizing his motivations and the details of his own path).
Buddhist doctrine as outlined in the Sutta Pitaka.
The doctrines and historical developments of various Buddhist sects and schools.
To that end, my next few posts will most likely cover material that I’m reading in this book detailing the life of Prince Siddhartha in light of the Pāli texts. Let’s try to find out what drove the future Buddha- the Prince of the Shakyas and he who overcame the “bramble of opinions” - to depart from his comfy life and walk the path of the self-realization, striving and persisting until he attained his goal.